Fine Gael welcomes retirement age increase for gardaí

FINE GAEL’S justice spokesman John Deasy has welcomed the extension of the minimum Garda retirement age but said there was still a long way to go before the high retirement rate is reversed.

Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy announced yesterday the extension of the minimum retirement age for new entrant gardaí and prison officers, from 50 to 55. This is in line with extensions across the public service.

Mr Deasy said: “The extension of the retirement age is a step in the right direction. There is a very high retirement rate in the Garda Síochána. The increase in the retirement age is a positive move but there is still a long way to go to reverse this worrying trend.”

The Fine Gael frontbencher said it was an issue that had been raised with him by senior members of the gardaí and he in turn had brought it up in the Dáil.

But the Prison Officers’ Association reacted with anger to the announcement. Deputy general secretary Eugene Dennehy said: “I am disappointed the Dáil has moved in this fashion as it shows no understanding of the job, the dangerous and difficult job that officers do, as we have seen recently in Mountjoy and in Limerick.”

To take into account the physical nature of the job, the last 10 years of service for gardaí and prison officers counts as double, so that they are entitled to the full 40 year pension after 30 years. Mr Dennehy said the association had opposed proposed changes to this long-standing arrangement and that increasing the minimum retirement age is a way of introducing it by the back door.

While no one from Garda Representative Association was available to comment officially, members reacted with surprise to the announcement, believing any change to the retirement age, proposed by a civil service pension review board, was still under discussion.